Edgartown Harbor Lighthouse Summer View

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Edgartown Harbor Lighthouse Summer ViewSubtle greens and yellow-browns in abundant seagrass along the beach with shadowed whites of Edgartown Harbor Lighthouse against a sparsely clouded blue sky.

There are places that take one back in time. I am not speaking of an old and nostalgic town that is from another time. I mean a place that slips you back and forth along a personal timeline. A place that makes you realize that it was formative in your current mindset.

Edgartown Harbor Lighthouse is one of those places for me. Nestled in along the coast of Martha's Vineyard, my first encounters were as a child. My first visit was accompanying my father, a Marine Surveyor, as he inspected the ferries named "On Time". The ferries carry their quaint name as running as needed and are always "on time".

Martha's Vineyard was a frequent place to visit when I was young. At about ten, my grandfather gave me a TLR (twin-lens reflex) camera. This is when I first photographed this lighthouse. Grandpa would give me his artist eye critique and suggestions to help me improve.

In college, while a Physics major, I went to a school with a strict core curriculum. Art history was a required study (and I had the privilege of being studying in the art abundant Boston area). I learned of Andrew Wyeth and studied his technique and usage of light and color. I thought back to the critique of my grandfather and wondered if I could ever incorporate the two.

And then, on a summer day, I was able to revisit Edgartown Harbor Lighthouse with my wife and sons. I looked over the green and yellow-brown seagrass, the positions of the people. The position and angle of the lighthouse. There was even a woman in the distance faced away in a gingham dress. All my visits to the Vineyard, all the approaches of Edgartown from sea on vessels I have sailed here... years of observation and a lifetime of memories combined. I found my view of light and color and one of my favorite lighthouses. A culmination of years. And I hope that there is gentle grandfather figure smiling over my shoulder.

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